Airecon 2026 – Days 3 & 4

Airecon 2026 is over and what a time it was. For the last 3 months I’ve been running pretty hot, busy both at work and personally. I was feeling stetched thin. Now my brain feels like it has been reset after spending time in the company of friends old & new, playing games of all shapes, sizes, and weights. Let’s dive into days 3 & 4.

The Third Day

My wife Cath was joining me on the Saturday but not until mid-afternoon. After getting some breakfast at the hotel I met up with Tim again at Crema. I could talk to Tim forever about any subject we chose to put our minds to. He is a font of knowledge and I love spending time in his company.

When we got to the convention I spent some time wandering the exhibitor hall, chatting with folk, and not playing games. I know, shocking! What I did instead was attend Tim’s talk on Monopoly and The Game of Life. I’ve seen Tim talk a couple of times previously on the history of playing cards and in the run up to his book called ‘Game Changers’. He is always an engaging and entertaining speaker, and this time was no exception.

It was late enough that lunch was next on my mind and then I went and picked up Cath from the station. After dumping bags at the hotel I introduced her to Airecon and the gang of friends I have made there. We played a little Can’t Stop with my regular gaming companion Simon and Paul Flannery, of Knightmare Live. Cath stomped us with a 4 point win, something I have never seen before. An early dinner and then Cath went back to the hotel to rest after a long day and I headed back to the convention for games.

I played some Waypoints with Sam, Doug, Simon, and another person whose name I didn’t catch. This is from Postmark Games a studio I greatly admire for their print & play philosophy and their smart design. I’ve played Voyages, 52 Realms Adventures, and backed the most recent 52 Realms Duels. Waypoints was the missing link for me and it is an incredibly smart piece of design. A roll & write like Voyages but this time instead of being pirates you are just having a lovely hike in a park. Rolls tell you how many ‘lines’ you can cross and those could be contours on the map or the gridlines themselves. Fold in the usual set collection/ strange powers of roll & writes and you have everyone just trying to have the best time. A very cosy time.

The evening then got a bit more strategic as I went for another game of El Grande. I really love this game and it is now on my list to get into my collection, likely replacing any other area control game I have. It is so pure, so easy to understand the basics of, and has such depth of play. A truly great classic game that it feels like no-one has really surpassed.

As with most conventions there is a little down time after games as groups finish up, rearrange, and choose what to play next. Having been asked about what a caldrea was mid El Grande I wandered over to Tim and Ava to see what they were playing. It was a game called Cross Clues and it was basically co-operative word guessing. Columns and rows of a grid are defined by words and you have cards that intersect at various cells. You have to give clues to that cell, by suggesting a word but not indicating which cell you mean. A sat in for the end of it and found it to be a fun co-op take on Codenames and similar games.

Tim suggested the classic Chinatown and I took the opportunity to educate myself in what is seen as one of the core negotiation games. It took me a turn or so to get into the flow of how much it was just pure negotiation with a smattering of mechanisms around that. It was chaotic, hilarious, and compelling. I managed to draw second with Ann Jones of Card or Die with Ava just pipping us to the post by 20k, basically 2 points. The way you get properties, by card draw, reminded me a lot of Lords of Vegas. With 10 years between the designs it makes it less likely to be direct influence but I couldn’t shake the comparison.

Over the course of our conversations running up to the con I had mentioned to Tim that Travel Games would be attending, a specialist importer of games from all over the world, but with a focus on Japan. Tim had been hoping to get a copy of Nokosu Dice an almost holy grail game that is much admired but very hard to get. Unfortunately it was not to be. However while wandering the halls I was surprised to see a copy at Tabletop Rescue a shop dedicated to second hand games. I picked it up for Tim and ended the day giving it a couple of rounds of play.

I am not a huge trick taking aficianado, but I have enjoyed many I’ve played. I can see why Nokosu Dice has such a reputation. Quite tricky to grasp with dice and cards both being capable of getting played into tricks, and trumps available in several differnet flavours. Add in a bidding system that relies on the last dice you have available and you have one very tricky puzzle. Tired and happy, I headed to bed.

One More Time

In previous years I’ve headed off pretty early from Airecon on the Sunday. A long drive home coupled with being a bit fried from days of gaming makes for one tired Iain. However this time Cath and I would be continuing our holiday in York and so we hung around till 2pm before heading off. This allowed some time for some more games, and Cath struck out on her own to play games with folks from our group.

Cath and I started the day playing some Compile against each other. This was her first time playing it, or any game like it, and she did well and came out on top! While Cath went wandering I showed Men at Work to Tim, and Esther. Tim had asked me to bring it along so I wanted to sneak it in before we headed off. It is one of my favourite dexterity games with a great incentive to do stupid things.

While this was going on I was delighted to see Cath getting into a game of Courtisans with Richard Simpson from We’re Not Wizards, Simon, and Ava. She was having a great time and liked the game so much that we ended up picking up a copy. Her first board game purchase! It was great that she got to spend time with some of my favourite people, and I hope she will come back next year for a day or two at the convention.

I finished up with a game of Aurum, a trick taking game that I had finished last year’s convention with. The 4 player version is a partnership game. Last year I partenered with Esther against Tim and Ava and lost. This time I teamed up with Tim to take down Ava and Esther, squeezing by with only two points. It is a really great game and may be the first trick taker I decide to add to the collection.

All good things

This was my favourite Airecon so far. The combination of seeing friends, having Cath along to share in the experience, and just getting to play games without any commitments meant I could fully relax and enjoy myself. It was wonderful to see Cath playing some games without me, finding her own way into my hobby. I was confident that those playing with her would help her and make safe space where she could experience games in a positive environment. Thanks so much to everyone who welcomed her with open arms.

I’ll be back next year for sure, eager to catch up with all my friends once more and play strange new games, at least strange and new to me. As someone who has spent their time in the darker parts of our hobby, it is sometimes easy to forget the simple joy of play. I feel like I have been rediscovering that lately, leading to more games in my life, more people to play them with, and more joy round my table. Over the course of Airecon I saw the strength of the communities bonds. Games small, large, complex, and shallow were enjoyed with equal measure. Everyone was welcome at those tables, each person finding games to play, people to play with, and experiences to treasure. I hope you find yours.